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Catching up with Keep Philadelphia Beautiful

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Established in 2007 after years of inactivity (and formerly known as PhilaPride), Keep Philadelphia Beautiful (KPB) works to build and sustain vibrant communities through sustainable initiatives. Now, with a new director on board and a federal campaign helping channel funds, the organization is poised to tackle more complex programs.

KPB is the local affiliate of the federal non-profit Keep America Beautiful, a network of more than 1,200 organizations. The national office recently launched "I Want to Be Recycled," a campaign that encourages people to recycle. In Philly, that means continued funding for litter prevention, recycling education and waste reduction.

KPB has already helped collect thousands of pounds of trash, removed thousands of tires and generated thousands of pounds of recycling. Those are impressive feats, but new Executive Director Michelle Feldman (former Commercial Corridor Manager of the Frankford Community Development Corporation) wants to amp up KPB's local presence.

"We're working on partnerships with various city agencies and offices, trying to launch new programs and make organizing community beautification efforts easier for residents," explains Feldman. "We want to encourage innovative ways to keep areas clean."

One example is an "art to trash" scholarship program.

"Registrants would submit a piece of artwork made from recycled materials, or materials that would have been thrown out," explains Feldman. "The winner would receive a scholarship for a class -- at an art school, perhaps, depending on who we end up partnering with."

The program, which is still in its infancy, would also create a temporary pop-up gallery. "We'd love to involve art in our future efforts, however we can," says Feldman. "We are working on an art and sustainability project coming soon to West Philly.”

"We want to keep doing what we have done," she adds. "Be a resource to those looking to spearhead community beautification projects, spearhead our own community beautification projects and be a partner to the City and the Streets Department however we can."